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Morningstar
SureSine Inverter Receives UL Certification.
Morningstar announced it has received authorization to mark its
SureSine 300 watt (115V AC output) inverter as UL and cUL (for
Canada) compliant with electrical safety and code standards. The
inverter was designed specifically to meet the needs of rural PV
electrification requiring AC power and small PV systems for telecom,
remote cabins, and RV/caravans and boats. The SureSine has extensive
electronic protections and no internal cooling fan or other moving
parts prone to failure. www.morningstarcorp.com/products/SureSine/.
Switching
CFLs on and off shortens lamp life. Here are some
guidelines for where to put these energy-saving bulbs, and how to
make them last:
Each switch cycle costs about 6 minutes in lamp life. Lawrence
Berkeley National Lab suggests that you use CFL's where they will
have on cycles of 10 minutes or more. This approach should also
maximize electricity and cost savings. www.lbl.gov
Brain
Teaser from the Oregon Dept of Energy
by Christopher Dymond
1
Acre of PV versus 1 Acre of Corn -- How many miles per acre can you get?
How much electricity from an acre of corn? 1 Acre of PV in a
reasonably sunny location will produce 120,000 to 200,000 kWh of
electricity per year. An electric car gets something between 1 and 3
miles per kWh - Thus we can get at least 120,000 miles per year on an
acre of PV.
How much ethanol do you get from an acre of corn? Let's say
you can grow160 bushels per acre. You'll get about 2.8 gallons to the
bushel (about 450 gallons to the acre, an excellent yield), and each
gallon of ethanol contains 85,000 Btu of energy. At 15 miles per
(less miles per gallon than gasoline, because ethanol holds 69% of
the energy of gasoline per gallon), we can get 6,720 miles per year
on an acre of corn, possibly 20,000 if we're driving an ultralight
commuter car.
This shows clearly that the future belongs to electric
vehicles. And once you understand that you begin to realize just how
much electric power is going to be needed to keep the world rolling.
If only you could grow PV modules from seeds.
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Alternative
School Students Learn Energy Concepts
Students at the Grant County Alternative school spent three
days in early March learning the physics of energy. EORenew's
Jennifer Barker prepared a curriculum including the laws of
thermodynamics, energy conversions using Btus, measuring and
conserving energy.
The Alternative School addresses the needs of students in
grades 9-12 who are at-risk because of home/family situations or
different learning styles. Their interests and abilities varied
widely, so the goal was to present a curriculum of practical physics
that would provide them with information useful to them as future
energy consumers.
The definition of a Btu prompted jokes about the number of
matches in a cord of wood. Several students who worked cutting
firewood or fighting wildfires were particularly interested in the
comparative heat values of different types of locally-available
firewood. Others were more curious about the relative cost of heating
a home with fossil fuels vs. firewood, and the life-cycle cost of
compact fluorescents compared to incandescent bulbs. |
Top: students
examine appliances' energy use.
Left: EORenew's
Barker does the numbers.
Bottom: The
"littlest student" snoozes peacefully in his carrier
while his mother
works on the spreadsheet. |
The middle day of the curriculum consisted of a tour
to several renewable energy installations. Students compared the
grid-intertied system at the grant County Fairgrounds with the
grid-connected system at the EORenew office and the off-grid system
at Lance and Jennifer Barker's house. Additional stops were made at a
solar-powered fish screen, stock watering pump, and a solar hot water installation.
On the final day, students watched the 22-minute "Power
of the Sun" video about how a photovoltaic panel makes
electricity from sunlight. Then they learned how to fill out a
spreadsheet for home energy use, and read energy consumption
statistics on appliances. Their homework was to record their energy
use for a week.
Students were impressed to learn that their energy use in the
northwest prompted coal-burning in another region, that a solar
greenhouse could grow lettuce in winter, and that energy conservation
promoted energy independence. Throughout the three days, the emphasis
was on understanding rather than memorization, and on learning how to
find and use energy information sources. EORenew visits classrooms
and guides educational field trips throughout the school year.
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Portland
Solar Business Gets All Its Energy
from
the Sun
by Suzanne Olsen
Mr. Sun Solar has been around since 1981, but had their best
year ever in 2007. That's because the company's owner, John
Patterson, realized a long-held dream of getting all the company's
energy from the sun. |
John Patterson of
Mr. Sun Solar is proud to be the first business west of the Cascades
to have zero net energy use.
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Patterson installed a 7 kilowatt photovoltaic system
in August, 2007 that provides all the power needed to light and heat
the office, run the computers, and power all the company's
manufacturing tools. The system will save two tons of carbon dioxide
per year, virtually eliminating the company's greenhouse gasses and
carbon footprint.
The system is intertied with Pacific Power's electric system
(grid-tied). On sunny days, the photovoltaic modules generate more
power than the company can use, with the excess power going back to
the grid for Pacific Power to use. The company's electric meter will
actually spin backwards, and they will receive a credit. On dark,
rainy days, the company will purchase electricity with the credit,
resulting in a "break even" or zero net energy use.
It took a lot of planning to get to this point. "I knew
that to reach zero net energy, I'd first need to make our building
very energy efficient," Patterson said. "We fixed areas
where cold air was infiltrating, then re-insulated. Then we did
everything we could with solar energy to reduce our power load."
Patterson installed seven tubular skylights that provide the
majority of the building's lighting, two solar attic fans for summer
cooling, and a solar hot water heating system. Efficient back-up
lighting and a heat pump keep energy use down. "Plus all our
employees pitch in to conserve. We dress warmly, keep doors closed
and turn out lights when we leave a room," he added. They unplug
the coffee pot and pour the hot coffee into a thermos after it's
brewed. "Little things really do add up over time," he
said. With stealth conservation and efficiency improvements, he was
able to get his average energy use down to about 23 kilowatt hours
per day. The 7 kilowatt PV system provides a little over that on an
annual basis.
A nice package of incentives and tax credits helped offset the
$67,500 cost of the system. The company will receive an Energy Trust
of Oregon incentive of $8,000. When Patterson files his Federal
income tax return he'll get a $17,676 refund (30% of cost less the
Energy Trust of Oregon incentive). Oregon's Business Energy Tax
Credit was even more generous, about $27,000, although it has to be
taken over five years. The Business Energy Tax Credit increased in
2007 from 35 percent to 50 percent of eligible project costs and the
maximum has doubled from $10 million to $20 million.
Energy Trust of Oregon, a nonprofit organization promoting
energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy for Oregon utility
customers, is happy to provide the incentive. "It's great to see
Mr. Sun Solar, one of our valued solar contractor trade allies, so
boldly walk his talk," said Kacia Brockman, Energy Trust's solar
program manager. "As providers of cash incentives for both
energy efficiency and solar energy, we're especially pleased that
John chose to make his building as energy efficient as possible
before installing solar."
Patterson is proud to be the first business west of the
Cascades to have zero net energy use. "Even in the Willamette
Valley, we get more than enough sun to completely power a
business," he said. "A system half this size and half the
cost would power most energy efficient homes." In fact, his
company partners with area home builders to make their new
construction homes solar-ready. "We pre-plumb the house for
solar water heating and solar electric, then the home buyer decides
whether to install the system," he said.
The company celebrated with a big open house last August. They
roasted hot dogs and baked cookies with a solar cooker. Lighting and
music were powered by the sun. Patterson was walking on air.
"Using all renewable energy is something I've wanted to do for a
long time because it's the right thing to do. It's the most
gratifying accomplishment of my entire career."
Suzanne Olsen is a freelance writer and
photographer specializing in renewable energy and the environment
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Northwest
Energy News Roundup
Federal
Energy Incentives Update
The Federal Tax Credit has not yet been extended past the end
of 2008. The Residential Solar Tax Credit portion of the bill extends
a 30-percent tax credit (created in the Energy Policy Act of 2005)
only through the end of this year.
The Business Solar Tax Credit and Fuel Cell Tax Credit extends
the 30-percent business credit for the purchase of fuel cell power
plants, solar energy property, and fiber-optic property used to
illuminate the inside of a structure. After December 31, 2008, the
credit reverts to 10%.
The recent "Economic Stimulus Package" passed by
Congress and signed into law by President Bush increased the 1st year
depreciation rate for solar to about 60%.
Oregon
RETC and BETC Improved
Homeowners can now claim one renewable energy tax credit per
house per year for each of the technologies, e.g. solar hot water,
solar electric, and geothermal heat for example. In addition
appliance tax credits are not limited per year, providing the
equipment is installed in the residence.
In 2007, the Oregon Legislature increased the Business Energy
Tax Credit (BETC) to 50%. Both the Residential Energy Tax Credit
(RETC) and the BETC statutes are retroactive to January 1, 2007. The
Oregon State Tax Credit for solar has resulted in a roughly
eight-fold increase in system applications.
A new High Performance Home tax credit allows up to $12,000
for qualifying construction. Technical requirements are available at www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/CONS/BUS/docs/Tech_Requirements_HPH_Renewable_2.pdf.
The 2008 Legislature clarified the BETC for solar
manufacturing facilities. Four major solar companies have made use of
this incentive to date. The largest of these is SolarWorld's 400,000
square foot facility in Hillsboro. The newest is a pilot plant in
Millersburg which will manufacture solar grade silicon.
Oregon
Net Metering Changes
In 2007 the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) adopted
rules for Portland General Electric and Pacific Power which require
annualized net metering on all systems. Residential net metered
systems are still limited to 25kW nameplate capacity, but commercial
systems can now be net metered up to 2MW. These changes do not apply
to coops, municipal utilities, and PUDs.
Energy
Trust of Oregon News
Energy Trust is recruiting residential customers of Portland
General Electric or Pacific Power to participate in a pilot project
to study how real-time feedback monitors affect residential energy
consumption. Studies in Canada and the northeastern U.S. show that
households monitoring their energy consumption typically reduce
energy use by about five percent. Qualified households will be able
to purchase a Blue Line PowerCost Monitor at an 80 percent discount,
and will be asked to complete two surveys in 2008.
Effective January 1, the Energy Trust has added new cash
incentives and increased some existing incentives. "We're seeing
increased interest in and awareness of the economic and environment
benefits of saving energy in all sectors," said Margie Harris,
executive director. Potential energy savings in the commercial sector
are large and extremely cost-effective to acquire, according to Harris.
Energy Trust's New Buildings program has increased the incentive cap,
and incentives for technical assistance have been added. Energy
Trust's Existing Buildings program has doubled the maximum incentive
per site to $500,000. Typical measures include lighting, heating, air
conditioning, premium efficiency motors, high efficiency gas heating
and water heating equipment, and high efficiency equipment for
restaurants and lodging.
For residential customers, Energy Trust has added an incentive
for high efficiency electric water heaters and premium efficiency
appliances. For more information, see www.energytrust.org/residential/promotions.
Idaho
News
Idaho Power offers VendingMiser smart plug-in devices, which
can cut energy use in most refrigerated beverage vending machines by
40 percent. If you are an Idaho Power customer (in Idaho only), call
888-264-4428 to receive one (or they may be purchased at www.usatech.com/energy_management/).
Idaho Power's Easy Upgrades offers incentives of up to
$100,000 per site per year for qualifying energy-saving projects in
commercial and industrial buildings. Eligible projects cover typical
improvements to lighting and air conditioning systems, motors and
motor controls, the building shell, plug loads, and more. Easy
Upgrades trade ally workshops will be held throughout southern Idaho
and eastern Oregon in early April. For more information, see www.idahopower.com/easyupgrades/
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